Electricity and gas price rises have recently been announced
A number of electricity and gas providers across Northern Ireland have announced price rises that are due to take effect next month, or which have already taken effect.
It comes as the latest Consumer Council Northern Ireland Household Expenditure Tracker, covering October to December 2025, shows the lowest earning households spent just under half (44%) of their basic spending on food, rent, energy, and transport.
After this essential spending, the lowest-earning households were left with less than £53 per week on average. Households in the next income bracket have less than £108 on average per week and have seen their spending power decline the most since the Tracker began in 2021.
What energy price rises have been announced?
Power NI has confirmed it will be increasing its electricity rates by 6.2% from July 1. The energy supplier said the move, which has been approved by the Utility Regulator, follows a review of its residential unit price amid sustained increases in global gas prices, alongside higher network and market charges.
Firmus Energy supply – one of Northern Ireland’s largest suppliers of natural gas – has also announced a tariff increase of 15.65% for its Ten Towns customers from July 1. They say this is due to higher wholesale gas costs on global energy markets, with ongoing Middle East tensions contributing significantly to recent increases.
The Ten Towns network includes Antrim, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Coleraine, Craigavon (including Lurgan and Portadown), Limavady, Derry, Newry and more than 25 other towns and villages in the surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, from April 1, Click Energy increased its electricity tariff by 9.5%, and Share Energy increased its electricity tariff by 26.4%.
What do these changes mean for your bills?
The electricity price rise from Power NI means the average household bill will increase by around £5 per month. A typical Power NI customer with a credit meter will see their bill rise by around £64 per year, while customers with a keypad (PAYG) meter will see a yearly increase of about £62.
This means over 500,000 homes in Northern Ireland will see their annual electricity cost increase to around £1,093 for a typical credit customer and increase to around £1,065 a year for a typical keypad customer.
For firmus energy customers in the Ten Towers area, the gas price rise will add an extra £2.47 per week for the average household. The increase means the annual gas bill of a typical household with a credit meter will rise by around £132.
Customers with a prepayment gas meter (PAYG) will see their typical costs increase by around £129 per year. The increase will impact around 76,000 domestic and small business firmus energy gas customers. There has been no announcement regarding the Greater Belfast Network area.
The Click Energy electricity price rise, which came into effect on April 1, means a typical credit or prepayment customer will see their annual electricity costs rise by around £108 per year.
Meanwhile, Share Energy’s price rise, which also came into effect on April 1, means the typical credit or prepayment customer will see their annual electricity costs rise by around £213 per year.
Support for dealing with high energy bills
The Consumer Council’s website has advice and information on how to save money by being more energy efficient at home, and information on organisations that can help if you are struggling to keep on top of energy bills; visit www.consumercouncil.org.uk.
For consumers who do not have internet access or would like additional support in checking energy tariffs, call our team on 0800 121 6022 or email contact@consumercouncil.org.uk.
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